Proposed Law Will Allow Jacksonville Police Officers Under Investigation to Stay on the Job

A proposed Florida law will allow Jacksonville police officers who are under investigation for wrongdoing to stay on the streets. Sheriff Rutherford is against the bill because it will take away his discretion as the head of the department to discipline his employees as he sees fit.

Police officers should be taken off the streets if they are being investigated for wrongdoing or breaking the law. A police officer’s job, above all, is to exercise sound judgment before action and display truthfulness after any action. If there is any question about an officer’s judgment pre-event and his credibility post event, he should be suspended pending investigation. It is so important because police officers can talk to us one minute and kill us the next with virtual immunity. Officers should be held to a very high standard because our liberty and lives are on the line. This is a very special occupation and those officers that demonstrate unsound judgment and have repeated credibility issues in the department should be weeded out, not enabled.